“That might occur to them eventually.”
“Time to get lost.”
I wound the Jeep through side streets before hitting a main avenue through the city, then joined the heavy traffic on it. My stomach on edge, I kept a watch for black SUVs, absently wondering why Arnaud insisted upon using them.A more anonymous pickup or sedan would do the job just as easily.
Unable to deal with the wig any longer, I yanked it off, then the glasses, and scratched my itchy scalp. “So what’s next?”
“The FBI,” Jade murmured. “In Washington.”
“That’s across the country,” I protested. “Why not offices closer to home?”
“And risk the agents being on his payroll?” she demanded. “No. We talk to the heavy hitters in the division that tracks human traffickers. Focus on that angle first. Give them the evidence to bring Arnaud down.”
I rubbed my chin. “He may already be on their radar,” I mused. “Importing illegals for the sex trade is a despicable crime. The feds may not have the evidence they need.”
“Until now.”
“Right.”
“We need to stop,” Jade commented. “Get cash. Arnaud may be able to track credit cards.”
“Shit.” I growled under my breath. “Can we do anything without him finding out?”
“It’s interesting he found our safe house,” Jade added. “How?”
I thought again about anonymous vehicles. “Maybe he had us followed. Picked us up outside the restaurant, tailed us, but we didn’t catch them at it. Then once he realized we may have seen his stash, he sent his goons.”
“Makes sense,” Jade agreed. “So he’d know what we’re driving. And he may anticipate what we’re planning to do with what we know.”
“Are you trying to scare me? It’s working.”
“We have to get out of the city,” Jade said. “There’s a branch of my bank a few blocks down and to the right.”
“Take your wig and glasses off,” I advised. “If you don’t look like your ID picture, the teller will get suspicious.”
She, too, scratched her head vigorously after tossing the wig into the rear seat. “I hate that thing.”
“Ditto.”
I parked in the lot of her bank and kept the engine idling as she went inside. Nervous, I tried to watch all angles at once, worried about anonymous cars, cops, black SUVs. One of Arnaud’s goons might be simply watching, calling in our location. The cops on his payroll cruised for us, searching for people of our description as well as blondes with glasses driving a Jeep with temporary plates.
"Come on," I muttered, tapping the steering wheel. “Let’s go, baby.”
I had no idea what might be taking Jade so long, and my nervousness mounted. Constantly on the lookout, I saw a dude sitting in an ordinary looking small pickup across the busy street. Time passed. He continued to sit there. So did I. Twice, three times, then four, I caught him staring straight ahead. At me.
“Oh, my fucking shit,” I moaned. “Totally anonymous. If I hadn’t seen him looking at me –”
Jade opened the door and made me jump, my heart bashing against my ribs. “What’s wrong?”
Chapter Eighteen
Jade
Magnus jerked his chin at the windshield, putting the Jeep in reverse. “That guy. Watching us. He’s likely already reported us to Arnaud. What took so damn long?”
“Getting ten grand from the bank takes time,” I replied, unable to see just who he spoke of. There wasn’t a black SUV parked anywhere. “What guy?”
He steered the Wrangler into traffic, then accelerated. “He’s back there. Trust me. We gotta ditch him and fast.”
